Attachment for automobiles.



A. S. HICKOX.

ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.2I.1916.

Patented Aug. 28, 1917.

A. S. HICKOX.

ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.2I.1916.

Patented Aug. 28, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.( WA TER FEED EXHAUST I s M W O r a J UNITED STATES PATENT @FETSE.

ARTHUR S. HIGKOX, 0F I-IOPLAND, CALIFORNIA.

ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Application filed August 21, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR S. HICKOX, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hopland, in the county of Mendocino and State of California, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in fuel systems for internal combustion engines of motor vehicles, the primary object of my invention being the provision of a system which will permit the employment of kerosene or coal oil, or other low grade fuels in place of the more ex pensive gasolene now commonly employed.

In this connection, a further object of my invention consists in providing a fuel system in which gasolene may be employed for starting purposes when the engine is cold and in which the fuel supply may be readily shifted to kerosene after the car is under way by the driver from his seat.

Another object which I have in view is the arrangement of a heating jacket completely inclosing the intake manifold of the engine and receiving the hot gases-from the exhaust manifold so that the gaseous fuel from the carbureter is highly heated and broken up into an extremely effective explosive mixture by the time it reaches the engine cylinders.

In connection with this heating jacket, a still further object of my invention consists in a valve which may be controlled from. the seat of the vehicle for governing the amount of burnt gases passing through the heating jacket so that any desired heating of the explosive mixture may be attained.

Another object of this invention is the provision of means for supplying water in predetermined uantities to the explosive mixture during 1ts passage through the intake manifold so that when kerosene is em-' tanks in such a manner that a single pipe line may be employed for supplying either of the liquid fuels to the carbureter, a single three-way cock beingv em loyed to selectively control the supply 0 fuel.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 28, 1917.

Serial No. 116,120.

With these and otherobjects in view, my invention will be more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and then specifically pointed out in the claims which are attached to and form a part of this application.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a conventional form of motor vehicle, part of the hood being broken away to show my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation, showing the engine manifolds, parts being shown in section to illustrate certain details in construction;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4: is a corresponding section taken on the line M of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the threeway cock employed.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

In order to insure a clear and accurate understanding of my fuel system and the method of employing it I have illustrated the system in connection with a multiple cylinder internal combustion engine 10 of a type conventionally used upon motor vehicles. This engine is provided with the usual exhaust manifold 11 and with an intake manifold 12 which may be of the usual type or of a type particularly designed for use with my system. A carbureter 13 of any suitable type is connected to the intake manifold in the usual mannerand afuel supply pipe 14 leads from a fuel tank 15 to the carbureter. The tank 15 may be disposed under one of the seats, at the rear of the vehicle, or at any other suitable point and the fuel may be fed from this tank to the carbureter by or by any other suita le means. The tank 15 is in fact the ordinary fuel tank of the vehicle, although with my system it is designed to be filled with coal oil or other low grade fuel instead of gasolene. A threeway cock, indicated as a'whole by the numeral 16, is interposed in the length of the pipe 14 and a branch pipe 17 leads from this cock to a supplemental fuel tank 18 designed to contain gasolene or other high grade fuel for starting purposes. This latter tank may also be located at any convenient point, such as upon the dash 19 of the vehicle.

The three-way cock, as best shown in Fig. 5, includes a casing 20 having a cylindrical valve chamber to receive the turn plug valve 21 and having a pair of diametrically disposed internally threaded outlet branches or nipples 22 and 23 and a third outlet branch or nipple 24 extending at right an gles to the branches 22 and 28. Onesection of the fuel pipe 14: connects to the branch 23, the other section to the branch 24, and the pipe 17 to the branch 22. The valve proper 21 is formed with a diametric passage 25 and with a radial passage 26 extending at'right angles to the passage 25 so that the valve may be turned to establish communication between the tanks 15 and 18, or to establish communication between the tank 15 and the carburetor, or to establish communication between the tank 18 and the carburetor, as desired. This valve proper is provided with a valve stem 27 carrying a lever 28 and a control rod 29 is pivoted at one end to the free end oi the lever and projects through the dash of the vehicle to a point where it may be readily reached by the driver, its free end being preferably provided with a knob or handle 30. it will therefore be clear that the driver at any time may turn the valve to any one of its three positions without leaving his'seat.

. The entire intake manifold 12 is inclosed in a heating jacket 31, as best shown in Fig.

2 of the drawings. This heating jacket may I beof sectional construction and assembled about the usual intake manifold or may be constructed in the manner shown in Fig. 2 in which the intake manifold and jacket are cast or otherwise formed as asingle unit, this being a preferred construction. As there shown, the wall of the jacket and the wall of the manifold are spaced throughout their extent to provide a heating chamber 32, the ends of the various branches of the manifold and jacket being connected. by webs 33 which areexterfded to form attaching flanges 3% by means of which the manifold and its jacket may be secured to the walls of the engine and to the carburetor. This heating chamber 32, between the intake manifold and its heating acket, is in tended to receive burnt and burning gases from the exhaust manifold 11. of the engine and inasmuch as these gases will, in

time, cause a deposit of carbon and otherimpurities, I preferablyprovide the main body of the jacket with a removable plate 35 which will permit access to the chamber 32 for cleaning purposes, this plate being secured to the jacket by bolts 36 or other suitable fastening devices. Brackets 37 may be connected to the jacket and to the engine naeaeoa wa1l to additionally support the manifold and its heating jacket if deemed advisable.

The exhaust manifold 11 is formed, adjacent its free end, with an opening to receive one end of a pipe 38 and the heating jacket 31, immediately above the point of attachment of the intake manifold to the carbureter, is formed with an opening to receive the opposite end of this pipe, the pipe being preferably provided at such end with an at taching flange 39 so that bolts40 may be passed through the flange and into thickened bosses 41 formed upon the jacket at either side of its opening, A second pipe 42 has branches as which communicate with the chamber 32 adjacent the discharge branches of the intake manifold and the opposite end of which communicates with the exhaust pipe at adjacent its point of connection with. the exhaust manifold. It will, therefore, be clear that when the engine is running, burnt or burning gases passingthrough the exhaust manifold will pass through the pipe 38, chamber 32 and pipe 42 to the exhaust pipe 44. highly heating the intake manifold and all explosive mixtures passing therethrough.

Preferably, T interpose a tubular casing 45 between the flanges i6 of the exhaust manifold and exhaust pipe and mount within this casing a butterfly valve l? in order that the proportion or heated gases passing through the chamber 32 may be controlled.

This butterfly valve is provided with a valve stem 48 projecting through the casing 45 and carrying a lever 4:9 to which is connected a control rod 50 which projects through the dash of the vehicle and terminates ina knob or handle 51;

In addition to the above described parts, I preferably provide means for supplying Water to the explosive mixture on its way through the intake manifold. To accom- 1 plish this, 1 provide a water tank 52 whibh ,may be mounted near the gasolene tank 18' water supplied to the intake manifold may be readily varied at the will of the driver.

From the foregoing description; taken in connection with the drawings, the operation of my improved fuel system will be readily understood. When initially filling the tanks and feed tank with fuel, the three-way cock is turned to establish communication between the tanks 15 and 18 until the portions of pipe between them are filled with fuel so as to insure against any air being in the pipe, after which the cock is turned to such position as to establish communication between the gasolene tank 18 and the carbureter. The engine is started in the usual manner with the three-way cock in this position and with gasolene as the fuel and run until the engine and intake manifold have become sufiiciently heated to permit proper use of kerosene. The cock is then turned to cut off communication between the gasolene tank and carbureter and to establish communication between the kerosene tank and carbureter and the engine driven with kerosene as a fuel. When the engine is to be stopped for any appreciable length of time, the cock will be turned to reestablish communication between the gasolene tank and carbureter a short while before stopping the engine so as to insure the carbureter being filled with gasolene when the engine is finally stopped. If this is overlooked, however, the cock may be later turned to this position and the carbureter drained sufliciently to vent the kerosene which it contains and to insure its being filled with gasolene.

Any desired proportion of the exhaust gases may be caused to pass through the heating jacket by proper adjustment of the butterfly valve 47 and any desired amount of water may be supplied to the explosive gases as they pass through the manifold by proper adjustment of the needle valve 55.

It should be noted that the exhaust gases are supplied to the heating jacket at a point adjacent the carbureter which would ordinarily be the coldest part of the jacket as the one most remote from the cylinders and exhaust manifold, with the result that this part becomes the hottest part of the intake manifold and a certain breaking up of the fuel into a suitable explosive mixture is in sured. I find that by proper use of the fuel system above described it is not only possible to utilize kerosene and other low grade fuels but that, as a matter of fact, kerosene is more efficient than gasolene as ordinarily used. My improved system is extremely simple both in its construction and in its operation and control and may be installed upon with any type of engines now commonly in use.

It will of course be understood that various changes in details of construction are possible without affecting the operation of the system and I therefore reserve the right to make any changes within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a fuel system for internal combustion engines, the combination with an engine having an exhaust manifold, exhaust pipe, intake manifold, and carbureter connected to the intake manifold, of a valve inserted between the exhaust manifold and exhaust pipe and controlling communication between the two, a heating jacket surrounding the intake manifold, a pipe establishing communication between the exhaust mani fold and the heating jacket adjacent the carbureter, and a pipe establishing communication between a remote portion of the heating jacket and the exhaust pipe.

2. In a fuel system for internal combus tion engines, a jacketed manifold formed in one piece and including an intake manifold proper having a trunk and outlet branches, a jacket conforming in shape to the manifold proper having a trunk and outlet branches surrounding the corresponding portions of the manifold proper and spaced therefrom, and connecting webs at the ends of the trunk and outlet branches joining the manifold proper portion and jacket portion of the jacketed manifold and providing flanges for connection with a carbureter and engine, the jacket portion being formed with an inlet opening in its trunk portion and the branch portions of the jacket being each formed with an outlet opening.

3. In a fuel system for internal combustion engines the combination with an on ma having an exhaust conduit, intake mani old and carbureter connected to the manifold, of a valve inserted in the exhaust conduit, a heating jacket surrounding the intake manifold, a pipe leading from the exhaust conduit at a point between the engine and valve to the heating jacket at a point adjacent the carbureter and a pipe leading from the heating jacket at a point remote from the carbureter to the exhaust conduit at a point between the valve and the discharge end of the conduit.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ARTHUR s. HICKOX. 1,. 8, 

